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Just needed some advice here on what opinions other pianists have concerning modelled vs sampled pianos ? I understand it's down to personal preference, but out of these two different types of technologies which is favored most with regard to realism ?

I would say that the best sampled instruments are more realistic in tone than the models, but the best models are more realistic in velocity/dynamic response than the samples.

Some people talk about the more realistic decays of the models, but I think that's only true if you're comparing to looped samples, not to the unlooped samples you can more commonly find in software pianos. That is, it's not an advantage of modeling per se, it's an advantage of not needing to loop. But of course, in hardware pianos, almost all samples are looped.

What voxpops and anthonerscott said is right on the money. At the end of the day there are differing opinions on this subject, and I would advice you to test out modelled vs sampled DPs for youself. Personally, I would go for a HQ sampled piano (MP10, AvantGrand etc..)

Two days ago I would say that sampled is always better. As of PianoTeq 4 that just came out, I'd say modeled becomes a real challenger and actually competes with some low-end sampled pianos.

That implies that you feel that PT4 is better than the V piano. I don't think that's true, and I would be surprised if you did either based on other things you have said. The V is the best modeled piano out there, so until something improves on it, I would say that modeled pianos have not progressed.

To the original poster, based on my playing of PT (I haven't tried the V IRL) I don't find it to have a more realistic response than a good sampled software piano. So I would say to voxpops' comment, that my opinion is

Realistic sound = sampledRealistic response = they are the same

Though I don't like onboard sampled engines for either sound or response. Their main problem in terms of response is that for the most part their sustain is too short. You can play with the pedal mashed and it doesn't sound muddy. Unrealistic.

There should be a toll (a payment) for asking the same question which has been answered ad nauseam on this site.

Ha. you took the words out of my mouth.

All newcomers (and this should have included me because i was probably as guilty as anyone else back...in-- the--beginning) should have to query the EXISTING VAST DATABASE of ENDLESS THREADS about these subjects. And, we should elect officers to occasionally bring them back out of the vault for a new round of digital food fights.

All newcomers (and this should have included me because i was probably as guilty as anyone else back...in-- the--beginning) should have to query the EXISTING VAST DATABASE of ENDLESS THREADS about these subjects.

Very true. The only problem is that the forum search engine is pretty bad. Specifically, if you search a particular term it brings up every post that mentions it, rather than every thread that contains the term. So if you search something, you will get pages of posts from the same thread, which may not actually be on topic. You can do a whole search and look through pages of results and it's all from like the last two weeks or something.

I find the search engine here pretty useless most of the time--though I haven't put a lot of time into it, so it may be user error.

Exactly. So when are the brainiacs going to figure out that the answer is a combination of the two technologies. V-Piano with samples could be quite compelling. I'm still hopeful, but not going to hold my breath . . .

However, I have now utilized various sampled piano sounds along with the Pianoteq modeled sound and have always needed the sampled sound somewhere in the mix but with Pianoteq 4 that era (for me) may have ended.

From what I am finding in Pianoteq 4, there are a few (2 or 3) blues and jazz sounds that I can utilize by themselves and they sound very good to me.

I have also found that layering my CA63 sound with the Pianoteq sound gives me a level of control that is fantastic. I can combine a soft blues sound from Pianoteq with the concert grand sound of my CA63 and generate just enough bite to give me exactly what I want.

For the moment, I feel like I have arrived at Piano Sound heaven. Note that I said ... for the moment ... I know how these things change over time but this new Pianoteq product is very, very good.

I have also found that layering my CA63 sound with the Pianoteq sound gives me a level of control that is fantastic. I can combine a soft blues sound from Pianoteq with the concert grand sound of my CA63 and generate just enough bite to give me exactly what I want.

Exactly. So when are the brainiacs going to figure out that the answer is a combination of the two technologies. V-Piano with samples could be quite compelling. I'm still hopeful, but not going to hold my breath . . .

Exactly. So when are the brainiacs going to figure out that the answer is a combination of the two technologies. V-Piano with samples could be quite compelling. I'm still hopeful, but not going to hold my breath . . .

Even after researching the creation process of Pianoteq 4 I'm still confused about how they got there sounds from a piano ? They confirm Pianoteq 4 introduces the "grand piano D4" and that a Steinway D from Hamburg was used as reference for its main characteristics and have been used for feeding the physical mode.

So what is the Grand Piano D4 ? If they got the sound from a Steinway D ?

Rash prediction. What makes you think sampling will fade away? Samples reproduce actual recorded piano sounds, and they do so quite well. Modeling struggles to produce a sham imitation, with a LONG way to go before matching up against a sampled library.

And, to say that V-piano and Pianoteq are the best piano simulations ... is just silly. The V does a good job. Pianoteq is abysmally bad. You've chosen one good and one bad, and called them both "best".

Rash prediction. What makes you think sampling will fade away? Samples reproduce actual recorded piano sounds, and they do so quite well. Modeling struggles to produce a sham imitation, with a LONG way to go before matching up against a sampled library.

And, to say that V-piano and Pianoteq are the best piano simulations ... is just silly. The V does a good job. Pianoteq is abysmally bad. You've chosen one good and one bad, and called them both "best".

too many wrong arguments in your post or lack of to even consider to response...

modeled piano struggling??? ha, ha, ha all i can say.What kinda of ears have you used for comparison? Pianoteq and V-piano beats all sampled pianos already.

Exactly. So when are the brainiacs going to figure out that the answer is a combination of the two technologies. V-Piano with samples could be quite compelling. I'm still hopeful, but not going to hold my breath . . .